Iraq's PM vows to stay course as clashes continue

    (Xinhua)
    Updated: 2008-03-28 10:15

    BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed Thursday to stamp out "criminals" while clashes between security troops and Shiite militiamen showed few signs to wind down.

    In Basra, the epicenter of the ongoing turmoil, fierce clashes kept the streets empty.


    An Iraqi Mahdi militiaman is seen during clashes in the southern city of Basra on March 27, 2008. [Agencies]

    Militants of the Mahdi Army, led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, traded fire with security forces in the Ma'qal area, witnesses said.

    They once seized a base of Iraq's security troops but withdrew about one hour later.

    Related readings:
     Iraq blast lifts crude over $107
     Iraqi PM gives Basra gunmen ultimatum
     Iraqi troops, militias clash in Basra
     Iraq more stable than Afghanistan: Jane's

     US death toll in Iraq hits 4,000
     Attacks kill 57 in Iraq; Green Zone hit

    Security sources in the city confirmed that several other clashes erupted during the day, but they refused to provide details as well as casualties.

    Maliki, who was overseeing the offensive in the southern city of Basra and has ordered the militants to surrender by Saturday, showed his determination to fight to the end.

    "People of Basra have invited us to do our national duty to protect them from the gangs who have terrified them and stolen the national wealth," Maliki said in a statement issued by his office.

    "We promise to confront the criminals and gunmen and we will never retreat from our promise," he said.

    Unidentified gunmen blew up early in the day a major oil pipeline to the Basra port, which would do great harm to the country's crude export, an official from the Southern Oil Company told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The source said that the pipeline carries one-fourth of the crude exported daily from Iraq's southern oil fields.

    Repairing the damage will take a long time, the source said without specifying the exact time needed.

    The Mahdi Army militia has threatened to set oil wells on fire if the Iraqi security forces would not halt their operations.

    A local police source said that Maj. Gen. Abdul Jalil Khalaf, police chief of Basra, survived a roadside bomb attack on his convoy shortly after midnight in the Jubaila area, about 5 km north of the city.

    Three of Khalaf's bodyguards were killed in the blast.

       1 2   


    Top World News  
    Today's Top News  
    Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
    最好看最新的中文字幕免费| 中文无码熟妇人妻AV在线| 中文字幕在线看日本大片| 性无码专区一色吊丝中文字幕| 中文字幕在线看日本大片| 99精品久久久久中文字幕| 88国产精品无码一区二区三区| 最近2019中文字幕大全第二页| 爽到高潮无码视频在线观看| 亚洲AV永久无码精品| 中文字幕精品一区二区日本| 午夜成人无码福利免费视频| 无码专区AAAAAA免费视频| 日本精品自产拍在线观看中文 | 色噜噜亚洲精品中文字幕| 无码人妻黑人中文字幕| 中文字幕在线无码一区二区三区| 亚洲av综合avav中文| 人妻少妇精品无码专区动漫| 久久精品国产亚洲AV无码麻豆| 99精品人妻无码专区在线视频区| 成人精品一区二区三区中文字幕| 中文字幕精品无码一区二区| AV无码一区二区大桥未久| 人妻无码一区二区三区AV| 亚洲AV无码久久精品狠狠爱浪潮 | 无码福利写真片视频在线播放| 日本中文字幕一区二区有码在线| 变态SM天堂无码专区| 日韩免费无码视频一区二区三区| 亚洲熟妇无码八AV在线播放| 国产综合无码一区二区辣椒| 亚洲日韩中文在线精品第一| 亚洲国产人成中文幕一级二级| 最近中文字幕完整免费视频ww| 无码人妻黑人中文字幕| 中文无码伦av中文字幕| 中文字幕有码无码AV| 天堂а√在线中文在线| 在线中文字幕视频| 亚洲日韩VA无码中文字幕|